New Horizons: Innovative Teachers of Awakening - Loch Kelly

Is Loch Kelly the most innovative meditation teacher today?

This is the third instalment in an ongoing series where I’m profiling innovative meditation teachers that explicitly and pragmatically discuss the ultimate goal of meditative traditions: awakening. This is a somewhat new trend in the meditative world, as I discuss in my intro to this series, where I also outline my now two decades experience in the meditative world and also profile the teacher who has been most impactful on me personally, Shinzen Young.

I find myself recommending Loch Kelly more than any other meditation teacher to the curious minds I encounter.  This is because Loch, more than any other teacher I know, embodies two of the qualities I value most in a teacher: accessibility and depth.

There are many accessible meditation teachers today that are great starting points, but don’t quite have the same depth when orienting people to the real jewel of meditative traditions, the potential to awaken to the non-dual nature of reality.

Other teachers and traditions have much depth, but aren’t all that accessible to newbies, and would take quite a bit of time and commitment to get to the really interesting stuff.  Traditional teachers of Buddhism typically start with preliminary practices, which you’d often do for years before they start to point to the ultimate nature of reality.

Shinzen Young is a great middle ground teacher.  He speaks eloquently and coherently about awakening and the ultimate nature of reality, but his system is still Vipassana based, which requires some time and effort to get a hang of (but well worth the effort).  I do however think Shinzen is unmatched when discussing the fundamental principles of meditation, which he communicates clearly in his landmark book The Science of Enlightenment.

Daniel Ingram is another great teacher who makes Buddhism very straightforward and accessible, but his approach is geared towards more hardcore practitioners who are prepared to really devote themselves to the practice.  That being said, the first few chapters of his book (available for free online) communicate the Buddhist path in a very grounded, direct, and inspiring way that would be invaluable to anyone interested in Buddhism and meditation.

Loch takes a very different approach.  He uses pointing out instructions – techniques to glimpse the expansive, awake and aware nature of reality – as a starting point.  His approach is not about learning concentration (foundational to Shamatha) or developing sensory clarity (foundational to Vipassana) or invoking energetic forces (foundational to Tantra), but instead he helps you glimpse already awake awareness as a starting point (a fundamentally non-dual approach, but with unique practices that stand out from other non-dual teachers and traditions).

Loch calls his approach Effortless Mindfulness.  This is not meant to imply that this method doesn’t require effort, it’s instead attempting to point to a state of being or awareness that is by nature effortless.

In contrast to the approach of Shinzen Young which emphasizes cultivating the attentional skills of concentration, clarity, and equanimity, Loch emphasizes that the awake nature of reality is ever present, and can be glimpsed anytime, anywhere – we just need to look for it.

This contrasts a “bottom up” versus a “top down” approach to awakening.  Bottom up rigorously and carefully cultivates attentional skills that gradually improve over time, purifying our mind and body so we can experience reality more clearly.  Top down approaches point directly to ultimate reality, in hopes that continually attuning to this perception will at some point lead to a permanent shift.

In my experience, these approaches are deeply complimentary, but people will often find one to be more resonant.  The effectiveness of a top down approach often depends on one’s ability to get a glimpse beyond our normal dualistic perception.  For some this comes naturally, for others it can happen with a bit of work; but for many it’s just not going to happen – in which case a bottom up approach probably makes more sense.

Practice Emphasis

What makes Loch especially unique in the non-dual teaching field is his adaptation of Tibetan Buddhist practices, specifically Dzogchen and Mahamudra techniques, which are considered the highest form or ultimate practices (he will sometimes refer to his practice style as “Brooklyn Mahamudra” as he’s from Brooklyn).

These practices differ from non-dual self-inquiry in their emphasis on perceptual and spatial awareness.  While self inquiry simply asks “who am I?”, Loch employs a variety of techniques meant to challenge our normal way of perceiving reality.  When a technique lands, you get a glimpse of a more unified field of awake beingness.

Loch’s approach emphasizes “small glimpses many times”, as opposed to a longer, more rigorous sitting meditation.  The idea is to continually glimpse throughout the day, slowly shifting our default perception.  This seems well suited to ADHD folk like myself who have trouble cultivating the concentration required to progress in a traditional seated practice.

Loch uses many engaging pointers, like being aware of awareness, asking “what’s here now if there is no problem to solve?”, tuning into an expansive 360 degree sense of awareness, dropping down into expansive heart awareness, and many more.

He encourages you to try several pointers until you find one that lands, and then keep practicing that one, continually glimpsing “awake awareness that is aware of itself” throughout the day.

Another factor that makes Loch’s approach unique is his background as a psychotherapist and his integration of IFS (internal family systems) into his system.  Put simply, IFS recognizes that we have different parts or personalities that arise to meet different situations.  While parts may be unhelpful at times, IFS posits that no parts are bad, that they all serve a purpose and are trying to help us in some way, even if they end up creating more problems.

The IFS approach is to get to know our parts; listen to them, spend time with them, essentially befriending them so they don’t feel so alone.  We educate them and support their maturation so they can function more healthily and cohesively (I highly recommend exploring The Integral Guide, a free choose-your-own-adventure style learning and self-healing resource that relies heavily on IFS but also integrated other approaches and modalities).

Loch’s approach then meets the parts with the unconditional love and sense of “always okayness” that’s glimpsed through effortless mindfulness practice.  This has a tendency to relax or integrate the parts, allowing for more inner harmony.

Strengths

A major strength of Loch's approach is that it doesn’t require a committed sitting practice (although it is definitely recommended) and that he makes these practices extremely straightforward and accessible.  

He really dives right into the core aspects of non-dual practice, using sharp and innovative language.  There are many “ways in” to non-dual practice, and Loch offers some of the most dynamic approaches that are rooted in one of the richest traditions.

This can make the practices more interesting and therefore engaging, in which case you’d be more likely to stick with it.  I find myself doing Loch’s glimpse practices all the time now; it’s a great method to get out of our conventional mindset and open to a more expansive heart-centered and wondrous sense of awareness.

Another thing I love about Loch is he makes all the core aspects of his teaching freely available.  Through his podcast and YouTube channel alone you can learn and start practicing Effortless Mindfulness, and he makes a starter pack available for free on his website too (see Getting Into IT section below).  No need to buy anything, but of course his books are more comprehensive and well worth reading, and his Mindful Glimpses app is the best collection of his practices.

Potential Weaknesses

Some people can glimpse this quality of awareness pretty easily, often leading to more clarity and motivation to practice.  Many people however don’t glimpse what Loch is pointing to, and as a result may not get very far with his approach.

I’d definitely recommend trying out Loch’s approach to see if you can get the glimpses.  Even if you don’t quite get it, it’s still a very helpful perspective to have on the meditative path, as it gives some clarity to the dimensions of awareness that we are looking for.  But if it just isn’t landing with you, I’d definitely recommend Vipassana or even Tantric practices.

If you can’t glimpse a more expansive state of being, committed Vipassana practice will deconstruct the solidity of experience and naturally open this larger dimension.  Similarly, Tantric practice can invoke energies that help to purify and open our energy and mind.

So if Effortless Mindfulness and non-dual practices in general don’t land, I’d recommend exploring Vipassana or Tantra (I wrote a little piece comparing Vipassana to Tantric practice here).

For a Quick Intro

Loch has given a number of great podcast appearances describing his approach.  A quick intro on Fitmind is a good start, or you can dive deeper into his approach with this mini workshop he gave for Tricycle.  Loch also has many informative and guided practice videos on his YouTube channel.  Most of these are also available in podcast format on various platforms.

If you’re already somewhat familiar with meditation practices then his appearances on the Deconstructing Yourself podcast are fantastic, where there’s a deeper discussion about his approach in comparison to other methods (first and second appearances).

Getting Into It

Mindful Glimpses App - Loch has recently released his Mindful Glimpses App which is easily the best way to dive into his method.  It’s full of interesting and engaging practices.  The UX may not be as polished as other more established meditation apps, but the innovative content definitely makes up for that.

Free Training and Guided Meditation Pack - Loch offers a free training and guided meditation pack titled Shift out of the Endless Cycle of Dissatisfaction on his website.  This is a great starting point and only asks for your email to get started.

Audiobook - Effortless Mindfulness Now is his landmark audiobook that Loch narrates and also guides practices in.  This is a great audiobook that is also very straightforward and contains many guided practices, though the guided practices are better organized on his Mindful Glimpses app.

Book - The Way of Effortless Mindfulness is his award winning landmark book and the best hard copy book that details his approach (his previous book Shift into Freedom is brilliant but less refined).  He doesn’t narrate the audiobook, so if you prefer audiobooks I’d recommend you go with Effortless Mindfulness Now.

Audio & Video - Loch makes his core teachings and guided practices freely available on various platforms.  Check out his YouTube channel, Soundcloud, and his Effortless Mindfulness Podcast (apple and stitcher) cover all the core practices and perspectives to get you started.

Loch’s award winning landmark book

Conclusion

I really love Loch’s approach and think he’s one of the most meaningfully innovative meditation teachers today for exactly the reason’s I started with: accessibility and depth.  I think his impact is just beginning to be felt, and he is undoubtedly inspiring a whole new generation of meditators and meditation teachers.

He is one of the most universally loved and respected teachers I know of today.  He’s been officially endorsed by Adyashanti, one of the most beloved meditation teachers of our times, and has also been praised by many established teachers including Daniel Ingram and Michael Taft, who are both tough critics and very discerning in their commendations.

So yes, I highly recommend exploring Loch’s work, I think he occupies a very important and unique place in today’s meditation landscape.